Here's What Will Go Down in 'Game of Thrones' Season 7

Though we don't have George R.R. Martin's words to work from, the show and fan theories paint the broad strokes.

Though the Season 6 finale has yet to air, it’s never too early to predict what will go down in Game of Thrones Season 7. We no longer have books to provide a blueprint from which to guess, but thanks to enterprising fan theories and the show setting up some plot developments, we’re not totally flying blind. We can guess developments like…

Daenerys and Jon will meet

At the moment, it’s unclear whether Daenerys will reach Westeros by the end of Season 6. But even if she does, her arrival will be the final shot — there won’t be enough time for her to make it North yet or interact with many Westerosi power players.

Season 7 is the one in which she and Jon will finally meet face-to-face. Season 6 has established that the world is shrinking and the writers are interested in throwing more characters together — Theon and Yara and Daenerys; Sansa and Jon. This is a trend that will only continue as the show winds down, and there’s no better time for them to meet than the show’s penultimate season, because they will then become allies against the White Walkers, teaming up to face off against them for Season 8. Or they will become enemies, in which case they’ll need Season 8 to face off against each other.

Alternately, maybe they’ll fall in love, Jon’s taste for redheads and probable incest aside (if Jon’s real father is Rhaegar Targaryen, that makes him her nephew). After all, the show has never had a problem with it in the past.

We’ll learn more about The Night’s King

This season, we learned about the origin of the White Walkers. But we still need to learn about the origin of their mysterious leader, The Night’s King. Season 7’s white walker lore will therefore give more of a laser focus on their intriguing leader and what he wants with Jon Snow — there are fan theories that Jon could even be the next Night’s King. Regardless of whether that’s true, we still need to find out what that stare was in Season 5’s “Hardhome.” Season 7 is the one.

Arya will rejoin the central narrative and meet the Hound again

Arya will be back in Westeros in Season 7. We know this because the Game of Thrones cast played the game “two truths and a lie” before Season 6, and one of Sophie Turner’s already came to pass (that Ramsay would die). Her other two suggestions were Lady Stoneheart’s entrance — the probable lie, as it won’t happen — and Arya knocking more names off her kill list. Surviving members of the list include Cersei, Walder Frey, and The Mountain. They’re all located in Westeros, which brings A Girl back for good by the end of Season 6. As Brotherhood without Banners leaders Thoros of Myr and Berric Dondarion are also on Arya’s list, and a certain Hound is currently with them, we can surely expect a reunion between the show’s best road trip buddies.

Sam will meet Jaqen H’ghar and learn of Jon’s parantage

Season 6 sent Sam on the path to the Citadel in Oldtown, the aptly named oldest city with a magnificent library. But before getting there, it took a detour to a very uncomfortable dinner scene in “Blood of My Blood.” The Citadel seems to be on hold until Season 7. As it is a renowned place of learning, it’s a perfect time for Sam to stumble upon the records of a secret marriage between Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Assuming they’re Jon’s parents, this would give him legitimate claim to the Throne. Since Sam has been willing to elevate Jon in the past — recall that Jon’s position as Lord Commander was thanks to Sam — it would make sense for the show to put this plot point in his hands.

Barring that development, Sam might encounter Jaqen H’ghar in Oldtown. There is book precedent in A Feast For Crows for their meeting, and just because Arya is leaving the House of Black And White, it doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of the Faceless Men. We’ve spent so much time with the intriguing assassins, it would be a waste for them not to have a role to play in the wars to come. Luckily, there are lots of intricate fan theories about how they’ll tie into the story’s endgame.

Direwolves will make a comeback

Season 6 was not kind to Direwolves. Bran’s Summer and Rickon’s Shaggydog both met their grisly ends, and the writers egregiously benched Ghost during The Battle of The Bastards and The Eating of the Ramsay. That being said, Arya’s old wolf Nymeria is still out there somewhere, roaming the countryside, and the last Song of Ice and Fire book was originally going to be calledA Time For Wolves. Though Martin changed the title — perhaps for being too on the nose — there are certainly signs that wolves are making a resurgence. We predict Nymeria will return in Season 7.

Lyanna Mormot will run shit and sit on the Iron Throne

This one is probably not true, but everything in the world would be better if it was.